Job Discussion Forums

[Dougb]

I have pretty bad credit and some unpaid bills (including back taxes) will that hinder me from geting a Passport or leaving the U.S?

[quanxie]

No worries diggers, Dept. of state computers do not talk with the IRS's or any of the credit bureaus. A criminal record might be a problem.

Good luck

[Leon Purvis]

[HunanForeignGuy]

First, to the OP, just pass over the previous poster's non-comments.

Next, it is not true that State Departments do NOT talk to IRS computers. That piece of information is pre-09/11. Since then, passport applications are vetted a lot more than they used to be. Back taxes will not preclude the State Department from issuing a passport. They will notify the IRS, however, that a passport has been issued, and they will, as a matter of course since 09/11, notify the State Department as to all travel arrangements that have been indicated on the passport application as well as all personal information. The application will also be vetted by Homeland Security against your social security number, your indicated address, your place of employment, etc. (through a hook-up with Social Security). All of this is done electronically and in most cases if you apply in person (with in-hand travel arrangements) you will know by the time you leave the Passport Authority when and if a new passport will be issued. If the Department of State has any concern as to the issuance of a passport, they may at their discretion, issue a one-year, five-year, 90-day, etc., instead of a ten-year passport. But all of this is one big IF.

In your case I wouldn't worry, truly. BTW, if you have an ex-spouse of any kind to whom you owe alimony for child support, they will automatically notify your ex-spouse (they are required to by law)....

Any questions, please ask.


HFG

And please, take good care of your passport. The days of just walking into a United States Consulate and saying that you lost or misplaced your passport and need a new one quickly are long over. If that happens, they can choose to issue you either a 90-day limited duration passport and complicate your life (they are so required) or take your application and forward it to Washington for approval (2/3 weeks these days on this end).

[Leon Purvis]

Ah, there you are again, HFG.

You are mistaken that the U.S. Justice Department and the State Department are so coordinated that it can interface with the IRS as well as individual state agencies. According to what you have knowingly revealed about yourself you've been out of the country for five years.

Perhaps you haven't been able to follow U.S. news. This is a major stumbling block in the American justice system.

perhaps you just don't know how the judicial system and the State Department works.

It would take a court order for the passport agency/ U.S. State Department to deny him a passport. This is not the kind of thing which state judges want to get involved in. That is not to say that it does not happen.

I have seen child custody cases and other family law cases where IT HAS BEEN REQUESTED that a party involved in a court case have his passport suspended, but it doesn't happen unless there is extremely compelling evidence that the party may be a flight risk. Even then, it would take an order from a federal court to accomplish this. In most cases the judge in a state circuit court will order that the party post a large bond to discourage flight. The state courts cannot order a federal agency to do anything.

In court cases involving capital offenses, it is possible for a judge to request a federal court to suspend a person's passport. That can happen when the party cannot be held without bail or when the posting of a large bond is not deemed a great enough a deterrent to flight. Again that requires a FEDERAL court to issue the order.

In federal court cases, however, it is easier to accomplish suspension of a passport because matters regarding international travel and issuance of passports falls under the jurisdiction of the State Department, a federal agency.

If the OP is not the subject of a grand jury investigation, under indictment for a federal crime, or being investigated in connection with or wanted for a capital offense, the likelihood that he would be denied a passport is almost nil.

[Sgt Killjoy]

If you owe child support above a certain amount, they will not issue you a new passport.

If you owe backtaxes, so far you can be issued a passport.

About bad credit? They don't care and if you stay gone long enough, the stuff will magically disappear off of your credit report.

[cj750]

I recently ran across a guy selling Harley parts in Beijing who had spent time in Dalian and Tianjin and told me he has been in Beijing for over 30 years which didn't set right with the way he acted...when I check he owed Child support and had a federal warrant for his arrest....had a address in the US until 97....turns out he grifted some Chinese here for over 40000RMB and cheated a few foreigners also....anyway the point is he has a passport and buys his RP from local companies...it doesn't seem the US is even concerned once these kinds of folks leave the shores..and buy the way..if buying motorcycle parts from a middle age man from Texas wearing a baseball hat contact me and i will tell you if your doing business with a scammer..

[WordUp]

You're probably more qualified than half the posters on this board.. Don't worry about it..